Buttons



FIG. 2

DE7I4CHABLE FIG. 4

INVENTOR JAMES HOPE BY J. Arm/mgr United States Patent BUTTONS JamesHope, Jamaica, N.Y.

Application September 26, 1957, Serial No. 686,525 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-108)This invention relates to buttons and more specifically to the typethereof requiring no needle-and-thread attachment to fabrics.

For centuries buttons have been attached to shirts, dresses and otherwearing apparel by threasds sewing the buttons to the fabric. At firstthis was done by hand but later the buttons were attached by machine.Even with this improvement much time and effort was required. Moreover,the buttons could not be easily detached for cleaning, change of buttondesign, etc.

A great advance was made in the button art, at least for certain dressdesigners, when the two-piece button which did require sewing wasintroduced. This made possible an easier attachment to the fabric, andalso made feasible an easier detachment when elaborate buttons were usedand which should be removed to prevent breakage during cleaning. Atypical button of the two-piece type consists of a lower portion whichhas a peg which projects through the fabric and into an upper portion orcap on the other side of the fabric. The present invention relates toimprovements in this type of button.

Devices of this general type in the prior art have used a sharp-pointedpeg for piercing the fabric but once pierced this peg has presented aproblem for it has either (1) had to be covered up by the cap, (2)remained visible at the bottom of an open cup and thus limited the typesof designs possible, or (3) been exposed and thus presented a hazard,causing scratches or bruises.

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate these difficultiesin two-piece buttons.

The foregoing and related objects are attained in accordance with theinvention by providing a two-piece button which has for its peg or malemember a readily detachable tip. The fabric is pierced by the tip andthen the tip is broken off when this function is performed. The peg isengaged tightly by the opening in the female member which has a numberof pliable tongues therein which make possible the insertion of thelarge head of the peg and a tight grip around the smaller shaft thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood by referring to thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingforming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the male member of the two-part buttonin accordance with the invention, showing the detachable tip thereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the female member of the two-part button;

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Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the male member of the button after thetip has pierced the fabric and has been broken off; and

Fig. 4 is an elevation view of the button with portions of the femalemember in section, after the female member has been placed over the malemember and the fabric.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2 show, by wayof example, a two-part button in accordance with the invention, Fig. 1showing the male member 10 and Fig. 2 the female member 11. They aremade of any suitable material, preferably polyethylene or some othersimilar plastic material or materials. The main criterion is that thefemale member 11 or at least the lower portion 12 thereof be madepliable.

The male member 10 comprises a base 13 and a shaft 14 projectingtherefrom which has a relatively large head 15 with a detachable tip 16.The tip can be a separate member which fits into a hole in the top ofthe head 15 or it can be attached to the head and broken off at the neck19.

The female member can take any convenient form but it is shown in Fig. 2as having a lower apertured portion 12 and a rim portion 17. Asmentioned above, the portion 12 should be pliable so that the tongues 18therein can be forced apart by the entry of the head 15 and then tightlygrip the shaft 14. If the material is pliable enough, the tongues maynot be required.

In assembling the button, the tip 16 of the member 10 is pushed throughthe fabric 20. The tip is then removed and the female member 11 pusheddown over the member 10, the tongues .18 giving way to the head 15 andthen gripping tightly the shaft 14. The buttonhole (in another piece ofmaterial, not shown) is slipped over the rim 17 and this material isheld in position between the rim and the fabric 20. If it is desired toremove the button from the fabric (as for cleaning), the member 11 ispulled away and the member 10 slipped through the fabric.

The base 13 can, if desired, be made in such a way that it serves as thetop of the button. Moreover, the member 11 can be made flatter and themember 10 more compact, if a thin button is desired. Various otherchanges can be made in the embodiments shown and described :withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which isindicated by the claim.

What is claimed is:

A two-member button adapted to be applied to a first piece of fabric orother material and to be used with a second piece of material having abuttonhole comprising a male member and a female member, said malemember comprising a substantially flat circular base, a shaft, small indiameter compared with said base, projecting upwardly from the middle ofsaid base, said shaft having a head at the upper extremity thereof whichis of larger diameter than said shaft and has a substantially flat,unbroken top surface, and an easily detachable tip projecting upwardlyfrom said top surface, said tip being sharp enough to penetrate saidfirst piece of material to which said button is to be applied and whichmaterial then lays fiat against said base, and said female member, freeof attachment to either piece of material, comprising a dish-shapedmember having member and the base of the female member leaving 10 2, 5

space between the said first piece of material and the lower portion ofthe annular rim of the female member to receive and hold in positionsaid second piece of material containing the button hole adapted to beused with said button.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS553,938 Reichelt Feb. 4, 1896 2,439,000 Hasenzahl Apr. 6, 1948 HuelsterMay 4, 1948 2,497,305 Issac Feb. 14, 1950

